Exposure to Career and Technical Education: Evidence of Academic Impact from MA High Schools

September 23, 2015, 12:30 - 1:30 pm

Wisconsin Idea Room 159, Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall

Shaun M. Dougherty

Assistant Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership, Naeg School of Education, University of Connecticut

Shaun M. Dougherty

Dougherty investigates the causal impact of participating in career and technical education (CTE) programs on high school persistence and completion, and earning professional certifications. Based on administrative admissions data from two oversubscribed high schools in Massachusetts, his findings show that high-quality CTE exposure boosts the probability of on-time graduation from high school by three to five percentage points for higher-income students, and seven percentage points for their lower-income peers.